Something Is Wrong with Your Style

Mi Shuhua arrived in a rush and left in a rush. He seemed in such a hurry that he could hardly bear to stay another moment, making sure to take the bottle of Jade Marrow Pills with him. Luo Chen guessed that he was heading out to pave the way with those freshly concocted Jade Marrow Pills. Foundation Establishment cultivators, having cultivated for so many years, were almost always shrewd as foxes. If they didn't look ten steps ahead, anticipating three to five steps was second nature to them. Rather than waiting until Luo Chen's alchemy skills advanced and production surged before hunting for buyers, it was far better to establish the distribution channels in advance. Only then could they immediately rake in massive profits when the time came. In comparison, Qi Refining cultivators, whose lifespans still fell within the realm of ordinary mortals, were rather short-sighted. And Luo Chen was precisely such a "short-sighted" person! Within the short range of his vision, someone was currently trying to slip away. Fortunately, he was short-sighted enough to spot the man right away! As if teleporting, Luo Chen blocked the main entrance of the Pill Hall with lightning speed. He held out a hand. "Hand it over!" Sikong Shoujia played dumb. "Hand over what?" Luo Chen ground his teeth. "You were dead lost in that game just now. You can't welsh on me. Give me our wager!" A wager? What wager? Besides, what gave him the right to say I was dead lost? Sikong Shoujia widened his cloudy old eyes. "How can you slander an innocent man out of nowhere? Who lost? This old man was merely passing the time playing that ridiculous Chinese checkers game with you!" Luo Chen took a deep breath and glared fixedly at the old man. "Fine. Since you want to play it like that..." *Heh, young brat, what can you possibly do to me?* Sikong Shoujia gave a cold scoff, exuding the worldly air of an old hand who had seen it all. Yet in the very next instant, his face flushed redder and redder. For Luo Chen cupped his hands around his mouth like a horn and bellowed toward Crescent Moon Valley: "Elder Sikong is welshing on a debt!" "Attention everyone! The greatest elder of our gang's Pill Hall, Sikong Shoujia, ran up a debt of three spirit stones to Hall Master Luo Chen from his drinking, whoring, and gambling! Now he's refusing to pay and trying to skip town!" "Pill Hall Elder Sikong Shou—" "Stop howling!" Sikong Shoujia's face flushed crimson, then shifted like a Sichuan face-changing act, turning as black as furnace soot. He flung a booklet straight at Luo Chen. Having tossed it, he bolted on the spot. As he hurried out of Crescent Moon Valley and saw quite a few cultivators looking up at him, his indignation flared even hotter. *What kind of people are they? It's just a secular hidden-weapon manual, was all that really necessary?!* Luo Chen couldn't hear his thoughts. Even if he had, he would have insisted that it was absolutely necessary! This was the stakes of their match! In the game earlier, after teaching the two of them the rules, Luo Chen had proposed a wager. Each of the three put up a secular martial arts manual. Such trinkets were fairly common in Dahe Market and weren't worth more than a few spirit stones. After all, no matter how well one trained in martial arts, it wouldn't stop a simple, righteous Fireball. Luo Chen, however, was different. He had the proficiency system. He could push secular martial arts to their absolute limits. Even if maxed-out martial arts provided only a small boost to combat prowess, any improvement was still an improvement. Previously, he had been preoccupied with alchemy, survival, and cultivation, so he hadn't spent much thought on the matter, only practicing the lightness skill Carefree Wandering. Now that he had a bit of free time, the idea naturally resurfaced. Thus, Luo Chen had proposed a best-of-five contest, with the player winning the most games sweeping all the stakes. Naturally, Sikong and Gu Caiyi had had no objections. They were mere knick-knacks anyway, hardly guaranteed to fetch a buyer if put up for sale. After a series of matches, Luo Chen had won two games, Gu Caiyi had won two, and Sikong Shoujia hadn't won a single one. In that final game, Luo Chen had held a massive advantage, which was why he had been so frantic to demand the wager. Not just anyone could welsh on a debt to Luo Chen. That fellow Gao Tingyuan still owed him five spirit stones, and the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect still owed him a spirit stone trophy—he remembered every single one. *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers.* The moment he saw the book's title, Luo Chen froze. "You old geezer, why on earth did you give me a martial art with a style that doesn't suit me at all?" Seeing him stand there in a daze, Gu Caiyi strolled over. Glancing at the title, she couldn't help covering her mouth with a chuckle. "Oh, it's this manual!" "You know it?" "Back then, a martial arts master happened by luck to step onto the Dao and arrived in Dahe Market. Having nothing to his name, he put this up for sale," Gu Caiyi said, explaining the manual's origin. "That person was very clever. He copied many transcripts and charged just one spirit stone or an equivalent amount of cultivation resources for each. So this thing has long been flooding Dahe Market." *It's a dime-a-dozen item, and Sikong Shoujia still tried to welsh on it?* *Another shameless old bastard!* *Wait, that's not right!* A thought suddenly struck Luo Chen. "Flooding the market? Does it have any special merit that allowed it to spread so widely among the cultivators of Dahe Market?" Anything that could become a common staple inevitably possessed some value, just like storage bags or Qi-Nourishing Pills. Gu Caiyi offered a faint smile. "Of course it does. It's a hidden-weapon technique, but once cultivators learned it, they discovered that Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers isn't just useful for ordinary hidden weapons; it also significantly improves magical artifact manipulation." "Isn't artifact manipulation purely a matter of the Attraction Art, spiritual energy modulation, or the strength of one's spiritual sense?" Luo Chen asked, intrigued. "You can't look at it so simply. In the midst of combat, timing, angles, speed, and rhythm all have to be taken into account." Pointing at the book, Gu Caiyi remarked casually, "As it happens, this hidden-weapon technique places exceptional emphasis on those exact elements. It's said that the master hailed from a place called the Tang Clan in a mortal dynasty." "I know, I know! They also have a hidden weapon called the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus!" *Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus?* *What in the world is that?* Gu Caiyi looked completely baffled. Putting that aside for the moment, Gu Caiyi pulled out another thin booklet and casually handed it to Luo Chen. "Since you're so interested in these martial arts, take this one as well!" Curious, Luo Chen accepted it. "*Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm*?" After reading the name aloud, he looked suspiciously at Gu Caiyi. "Don't tell me you actually practiced this?" He could hardly imagine a beauty who appeared like an immortal maiden on the Dao Discussion Platform unleashing a Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm. What kind of nonsense was this? The shameless old bastard gave him *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers*, while the gorgeous maiden gave him *Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm*. Their styles were completely upside down! Gu Caiyi let out a soft laugh. "I never practiced it, but someone you know certainly did." "Who?" "Wang Yuan!" Gu Caiyi said with a smile. "He also entered the cultivation world as a martial arts grandmaster and went through days of hawking secret manuals at street stalls back then. This was one he sold, and I happened to obtain a copied transcript." Luo Chen paused. In his distant memories, there did seem to be such a scene. That was back before his transmigration, from the original host's memories. *So Brother Wang also suffered through pawning off his possessions!* And it was especially tragic—once sold, others simply transcribed and resold it. When it came to business acumen, Brother Wang was far inferior to that hidden-weapon grandmaster from the Tang Clan! After sighing over the irony, Luo Chen put this manual away as well. He intended to look through it in his spare time. If it suited him, he wouldn't mind cleaving a few mountains and breaking a few monuments! Having stowed the manuals, Luo Chen's curiosity remained unsatisfied. For instance... "Fellow Daoist Gu, what core cultivation method do you practice? How about we set a time to cultivate together?" This time, Gu Caiyi didn't tell him to get lost. She had grown used to Luo Chen's occasional flippant remarks. She merely rolled her eyes at him. "I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it. That's a secret art of the Hehuan Sect!" Luo Chen's eyes lit up, and he declared loudly, "Isn't that just perfect? Enchantress, I demand that you assist my cultivation with your Hehuan Sect secret art!" "Get lost!" Well, Gu Caiyi had overestimated her composure. She would need more time to get used to Luo Chen's total lack of shame. Luo Chen scurried off in defeat. For now, it was best not to antagonize a mighty cultivator of the ninth layer of Qi Refining too much. Otherwise, even Old Man Mi, his Dao protector, wouldn't be able to shield him. Back inside the stone chamber, Luo Chen tossed a pill into the air with one hand and caught it in his mouth. He crunched down on it a few times, then sensed its effects briefly before nodding in satisfaction. "Its potency is only a tenth of a Qi-Nourishing Pill, but it suits my current condition perfectly!" If Mi Shuhua were present, his eyes would surely widen in fury, and he would summon a top-grade magical artifact to strike this wretched disciple dead on the spot. Because what Luo Chen had just eaten was none other than a Jade Marrow Pill! He actually had extra Jade Marrow Pills on him! He had claimed that his yield per cauldron was currently only eleven pills. Yet even after handing all those pills over to Mi Shuhua, he still had some left on his person. And not just one. Eight more lay quietly inside his storage bag. In other words, counting the one he had just swallowed, his true yield was twenty! *As expected of a pill recipe mastered through the system. Both the success rate and the pill yield are extraordinarily stable.* Indeed, Luo Chen's success rate and pill yield had always been remarkably steady! Unlike other alchemists, who might produce five pills in one batch and double that when in good form, Luo Chen's yields had always been exceptionally consistent, whether for Fasting Powder or Myriad Wonders Pills. And with the Jade Marrow Pill, Luo Chen had already determined that a single cauldron produced around twenty pills! Furthermore, there were no ruined pills. It was either total failure or complete success! If this terrifying stability were ever revealed, it would undoubtedly shock the cultivation world! It was precisely because of this that Luo Chen kept concealing it. During the refinement process, he would even use his spiritual power to destroy a small portion of the raw ingredients, creating the illusion of varying yields. *For now, I can still cover it up and secretly skim a few Jade Marrow Pills.* *Once mass production begins later on, I won't be able to do it so blatantly.* Luo Chen smiled faintly. Even in three years of famine, a cook would never starve. Naturally, he had no intention of starving himself. Currently, his physical condition allowed him to refine at most two Qi-Nourishing Pills a day. However, that did not mean he couldn't refine other pills—especially low-grade pills with weak medicinal potency like the Jade Marrow Pill. He could pop them like candy. He didn't even need to deliberately circulate the Eternal Spring Art to refine them. Allowing the Jade Marrow Pill to dissolve naturally in his body, the released medicinal efficacy would seep into his fully opened twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary vessels. Whenever he cast spells or engaged in physical activity, this faint medicinal potency would slowly convert, either being expended or absorbed. Moreover, at this stage, he didn't even have to worry about drug resistance or side effects. As the concocter, Luo Chen understood the efficacy and contraindications of the Jade Marrow Pill better than anyone, and he knew precisely where to draw the line. In short! *For now, I'll skim as much as I can!* With a soft chuckle, Luo Chen opened *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers*. Who didn't dream of being a graceful maiden now and then? *** *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers*, Author: Tang Wuchen. Opening the manual, Luo Chen gave an immediate nod of approval. Since the author had "Chen" in their name, they were bound to be an exceptionally handsome and remarkable person. Just like him! In that case, didn't it mean this manual was practically tailored for him? Unfortunately, after reading through the entire text, Luo Chen felt a headache coming on. The manual recorded thirty-six distinct techniques for using hidden weapons, each with its own execution secrets. To master them fully, one would inevitably have to track down those specific hidden weapons and test them one by one. "This is way too troublesome!" "I wonder how other cultivators managed to glean the relevant artifact manipulation techniques from this." Without anyone to guide him, Luo Chen could only feel his way forward on his own. Done that way, however, it would consume far too much time. "What a shame. I was hoping to use this to grind out a wave of achievement points." Indeed, Luo Chen wasn't learning these secular martial arts merely to add a few combat tricks to his repertoire. What he wanted most was to use martial arts to grind skill proficiency, thereby acquiring enough achievement points. As he acquired more and more pill recipes, his once ample achievement points were looking increasingly meager. Reaching Grandmaster in Myriad Wonders Pills had granted him one point, bringing his total to 23. But unlocking the entry level for Jade Marrow Pills had cost ten points in one go. He still held the incomplete Tier 1 recipe for the Nether-Passage Pill, the incomplete Tier 2 recipe for the Jade Dew Pill, and the complete Tier 2 recipe for the Blood Fiend Pill. Whether completing the recipes or entering their basics later, a great number of achievement points would be required. Luo Chen had to plan ahead! He couldn't wait until the need arose before frantically grinding proficiency. Compared to spells, which were difficult to learn and master, martial arts were far simpler. To put it plainly, secular martial arts were largely built upon the mortal physique. The stronger the physique, the higher the ceiling of the martial art. Having been steeped in spiritual energy over long years, a cultivator's physique was already exceedingly formidable. By merely training a little according to the manual's requirements, one could easily attain modest success. Back then, the proficiency of Carefree Wandering had soared rapidly for this very reason. Now, Luo Chen wanted to repeat the trick. Unfortunately, the tedious training requirements of Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers brought him to an awkward standstill. "Giving up is out of the question. Everyone trains in it, which proves this hidden-weapon manual truly has merit." "Still, there's no need to rush for immediate results right now." Luo Chen shook his head. After committing a hidden-weapon technique called the Hunyuan Bead to memory, he tossed *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers* into his storage bag. The main reason he memorized the Hunyuan Bead was that the weapon itself was simply a small round bead. However, once it penetrated an enemy's body, the force concealed within would instantly detonate. At that moment, the concussive force combined with the fragments of the exploding bead would inflict immense internal trauma. Not only was it exceedingly powerful, but it was also notoriously difficult to treat. It was a thoroughly insidious and vicious hidden weapon! Luo Chen had no time to forge Hunyuan Beads, but he happened to have similar spheres on hand that could serve for training. The stone beads left behind from failed Jade Marrow Pill attempts were excellent materials for hidden weapons! After all, those were waste pills formed from the marrow of Huanyu jade, a Tier 1 spiritual material. In terms of hardness, they were not inferior in the slightest to the Hunyuan Beads circulating in the secular world. Having stowed *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers*, Luo Chen casually flipped open the other martial arts manual. The personal martial art Wang Yuan had hawked at stalls in his early years, gifted to him by Gu Caiyi—*Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm*! Originally, he hadn't held high hopes for this palm technique. He assumed it was like Iron Sand Palm, relying on external force to temper a pair of iron palms. He certainly had no time for such thankless, grueling practice. Yet as he read on, he became completely absorbed. "It's actually a palm technique focused on qi control!" Remarkably, this palm technique was not an external art, but an internal one! It explained how a martial arts master could use a special method to project internal strength or true qi outward through specific meridians and acupoints. Good heavens, this was extraordinary! As far as Luo Chen knew, anyone in the secular martial world capable of projecting true qi was an indisputable martial arts grandmaster. This palm technique took an unconventional path, allowing one to achieve true qi projection even without attaining grandmaster status. He glanced at the author's name. *Well, what do you know!* Wang Yuan! "It's actually an original martial art created by my big brother! His naming sense is just a bit lacking, though. Wouldn't Sky-Breaking Palm or White Rainbow Palm sound so much better? Even Air-Splitting Palm would be an improvement!" After poking fun at Wang Yuan's naming skills, Luo Chen felt a surge of excitement. Internal strength? He had none. True qi? He lacked that as well. Yet he possessed a form of energy far superior to internal strength and true qi—spiritual power! Furthermore, the specific meridians recorded in the book posed no challenge to him whatsoever, as his physique already boasted all twelve standard meridians open and eight extraordinary vessels unobstructed. As for the specific acupoints—Shaofu, Laogong, Zhongzhu, Zhongchong, and Hegu—he had no trouble with those either. Both the *Qingyuan Alchemy Exposition* and the *Illustrated Compendium of a Hundred Herbs* contained corresponding diagrams of human acupoints. He only needed to stimulate those acupoints slightly with spiritual energy to clear them. In that case, mastering the basics of Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm would be as easy as turning his hand. No sooner thought than done! Luo Chen mobilized his spiritual power and guided it along the simple method recorded in the manual, entering the three yang meridians of the hand. It traveled smoothly, encountering no resistance. Upon reaching the palm, the spiritual power converged into needle points, piercing gently. *Pierce! Pierce! Pierce! Pierce! Pierce!* Before long, the five acupoints in his hand were breached one by one. With that, the channels for projecting spiritual power were officially opened. When not in use, they could be closed at any time. Fearing the channels weren't wide enough, Luo Chen widened them several times with his spiritual power, only stopping when he felt a cool draft blowing across the center of his palm. "Alright, let's see just how powerful Brother Wang's self-created supreme art really is!" Luo Chen chuckled and slammed a palm violently against the solid stone floor. Vast spiritual power poured forth like a surging river, unleashing in an instant. *Boom!* A deafening crash echoed both inside and outside the stone chamber. "Luo Chen, are you alright?" It was Gu Caiyi's concerned voice. "I'm fine, not a thing wrong with me, *achoo*!" "Uh, I'm going into seclusion for a bit. Don't let anyone in to disturb me!" After a long pause, Luo Chen's reply drifted out from within. His voice sounded hollow and distant, as though coming from deep inside a hole in the ground. Only upon hearing that did Gu Caiyi let out a sigh of relief. Turning around, she went back to supervising the fire-tenders, ensuring they grew proficient with the new fire-control technique Luo Chen had assigned. This group of fire-tenders was the same batch as before. Having built a month's worth of foundation, they picked up the fire-control requirements for the Jade Marrow Pill much faster. Still, spending every day beside the fire pits had turned their complexions ruddy and left their skin somewhat dry. Gu Caiyi couldn't help reflecting that alchemy truly wasn't easy. She wondered how Xiangxiang had maintained her looks back then; having served as a fire-tending attendant for three years, her skin had remained flawless. Luo Chen would have had plenty to say regarding her confusion. An alchemist learning fire control naturally had to learn fire evasion as well. If elders provided early instruction, one would know a few handy tricks. At the moment, however, Luo Chen had no time to answer Gu Caiyi. Because he was inside a pit. Or rather, not a pit, but an immensely wide tunnel branching out in all directions! Gazing at the crisscrossing, web-like subterranean passages, a thought surfaced in Luo Chen's mind. "Mine tunnels!" His guess was spot on. Beneath the Pill Hall lay the mine tunnels left behind when the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion had excavated star silver ore in Crescent Moon Valley. When the Sword Pavilion relocated, these tunnels had been sealed. After taking over, the Mountain Breaker Gang had likely sent people down to inspect them. But once confirming that no inheritance remained, they had simply left them alone. "It's said the Medicine Hall controls several of the larger mine tunnels, using them to dry shade-loving herbs that can't be exposed to sunlight." "In that case, the section I'm in must belong to the main tunnels." Glancing at his status panel, a new entry had just appeared: *[Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm (Entry: 1/100)]*. Luo Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This technique had certainly given him a massive surprise. On his very first palm strike, he had failed to control his strength and blasted straight through the floor. *Did I just punch through the earth and transform into a dragon?* Standing in the center of the expansive main tunnel that branched in every direction, Luo Chen felt momentarily at a loss. "Should I explore?" "Where should I go first?" After a moment's hesitation, Luo Chen chose the widest passage. The widest meant that the most people had used it in the past, and consequently, it would be the safest. He harbored no wild hopes of finding some deceased expert's remains that would grant him a direct path to the Nascent Soul realm. He only prayed that no underground demonic beasts lurked within these caverns. "Spiders, snakes, pangolins—stay far away!" Thinking of pangolins, an idea crossed Luo Chen's mind. A small puppet dropped directly to the ground, scurrying swiftly forward with a rustling sound. "Puppetry is truly wonderful. An absolute essential for home, travel, and looting corpses! If I get the chance in the future, I must learn it properly." With that thought, Luo Chen embarked on his rare expedition. *** "Is Luo Chen not here?" Mi Junping stood in the Pill Hall with an unkind expression. Seeing her demeanor, Gu Caiyi hesitated slightly. "He is, but..." "If he's here, tell him to come out and see me." "He's entered seclusion and probably can't come out," Gu Caiyi replied honestly. After all, Luo Chen had instructed that no one be allowed to disturb him. *Seclusion?* *A mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator entering seclusion every few days—what in the world is he doing?* *Anyone who didn't know better would think he was some enlightened master who routinely goes into seclusion for centuries or millennia!* Mi Junping fumed inwardly, then shoved a bundle of items into Gu Caiyi's hands. "This is his dividend from last month. Hand it to him when he comes out. Also, check the ledger carefully. If anything's missing later, don't come crying to me!" After she left, Gu Caiyi opened the bag. A pile of exquisitely uniform low-grade spirit stones instantly met her gaze, alongside a familiar small wooden box. Gu Caiyi's mouth fell open, and she began to question reality. Was Luo Chen's income really this high now?